Spain captured footage of fin whale with a severely bent spine struggling to swim off the Mediterranean coast.The Spanish aquarium Oceanografic Valencia shared video of the whale on social media and said the animal was spotted on March 4 by a beach in Cullera, near Valencia.
A team of biologists and veterinarians from the aquarium were called to view the whale after a boat captain reported that the creature was trapped in a fishing net.
Read more: Killer whale seems to have adopted — or abducted — a pilot whale, surprising experts When the aquarium’s team arrived at the site, they quickly realized the 40-tonne, 17-metre-long male fin whale was not stuck at all, rather it had “scoliosis of unknown origin.”The extreme scoliosis is believed to have likely been caused by blunt force trauma from a vessel strike.
Biologists observed the whale’s obvious swimming difficulties and determined it would probably die of starvation as a direct result.The aquarium’s team attempted to attach a tracking device to the fin whale but were unable to because of its overly curved spine.After a few hours, the whale reportedly swam into deeper waters and disappeared.According to Live Science, it’s possible for large whales to be born with or develop scoliosis at a young age.